


The Call of Duty?

by tgfoy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Battle of Hogwarts, Character Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:34:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28649112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tgfoy/pseuds/tgfoy
Summary: The Battle of Hogwarts had begun, this is the story of what happened from the view of one participant, loyal to his Master. But was it simply a Call of Duty that led him to fight?
Kudos: 3





	The Call of Duty?

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.

The Call of Duty?  
By Tgfoy.

He was so far beyond exhausted, I knew he had not slept for far too long, but still they would not leave him alone to rest, he had done so much for them, given each of them so much, now he needed something from them. He needed to be left alone, at least for now, but they didn't give it to him, it was too much to expect it seemed, too much for them to give him for now, they were all so lost in what he had done. They could not see his need, they were all so caught up in celebrating his victory, his achievement they did not, nor would they, see his need, his discomfort of all attention they were lavishing on him. I wished they could see what he desired, what he needed, but there are none so blind as those who do not wish to see. He had never liked hero worship, I could tell that about him, even from the first time I had laid eyes on him. That first time I had seen him, in the house I had served for so many years, it was a fact that I had not particularly liked him, although that didn't matter, I had still been able to tell a great many things about him. I had not taken the time to get to know him back then, it was not my concern at that time, not until almost a couple of years ago, when everything changed. Changed so much that I had to rethink everything and I realised so much and I regretted my previous inattention of him as a result.

The crowd surrounding him were not his friends, the ones who had been with him throughout, the ones who had supported him since he had returned to this world, for the most part at least. Nor were they the friends who had been left behind, to fight for him even though he was away doing other things to ensure victory. The throng pressing around him was not even comprised of acquaintances, in fact by far most of those surrounding him had never met him before today, but they had all fought alongside him and each other in this place. Now they all wanted a piece of him, to be able to say they had been with him, even spoken with him, touched him or simply just been looked at by him on this the day of his victory. His friends, those who cared about him rather than the legend that had been built around him, could not get near him, due to the others clamouring to get near him, they were all that had desperately hoped he would put an end to it all for them.

Less than an hour ago they had all believed him to be dead, laid at the feet of his supposed killer who gloated over the body, confidant of victory. Only I had known the truth, I alone had felt, could feel, that he still lived, despite appearances seeming otherwise. Yes, I knew his soul had been caught between this life and the next, less than an hour before, I had felt it. I also felt another soul depart him completely, it had resided in him as long as I had known him, but now it was gone. It had not been truly part of him, it was a piece of his enemy, the dark lord. How the fragment of another's soul had got into him I didn't know, perhaps it was part of the legend, the story of how he had been orphaned. How he had survived its departure was even more of a mystery, the pull of such a remnant usually destroyed the vessel in which it resided when it left, I had felt his own soul pull itself back to this existence, to his body, I knew it was different from before, it was as if a mask had been removed from it, and he was now wholly himself, nothing more and nothing less, as a result and I could feel the power of it regenerating his core, no longer bound by the alien fragment. Still, as he was carried to the castle by his friend, and they were all summoned out to see his body, even as they protested the truth of it, only I knew it to be a lie, only I realised it was a trick, necessary to lull the dark ones into a false sense of security and I prepared. I knew the battle would resume, knew I would be part of it, to help him even though he would not call for the assistance, he would have it. It was simply the right thing to do, to aid the fight, to aid the victory.

I had gathered the others of my kind who were in the school, they knew they were needed to join in the defence of the castle and students, I had no need to ask them, they eagerly agreed. They hurriedly gathered any weapon they could find, just as it had been in the days the castle was built, we would be going into battle with kitchen knives, cleavers, toasting forks, hammers and chisels anything heavy or sharp to complement our other abilities. We stood, ready, at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the entrance hall and waited, determined expressions on each of us. I felt his brief thrill of excitement, then heard a crowd approaching from outside and the battle resumed. I knew he had concealed himself with the cloak and that thrill of nerves as he covered himself had been, I guessed, because his plan, what ever it was, had worked so far. We, those of my kind and myself, charged up the stairs as the battle entered the school. 

We emerged into chaos, the defenders of the school were flooding back into the entrance hall, battling the enemy all the way. The proud space was scarred from miss aimed spells, chunks of stone rained down from the walls, others higher up dropped anything they could down onto the invaders, firing spells amongst the debris. It was into this bedlam of battle that we charged headlong, attacking with all our power and any tool we could use as a weapon.

Of all the ones I led, I was the odd one out, I was bound to a wizard, not to this castle as they were. Still, we charged up to the fight to protect the school and our world. I wore the locket he had given me to replace the one given me to destroy, he had completed that task, for which I was grateful. Doing so had shown great respect to the family I had served before him where I had been unable to do in my inability to follow that order. The replica swung freely and I called for the one who had given me the original locket as my battle cry, before we ploughed into the grown witches and wizards fighting in the entrance, the Dark Ones being pushed back by the crowd and the Centaurs. There we were, alongside witches and wizards, powerful creatures and students all fighting side by side as equals.

We were attacking any we could reach with the makeshift weaponry we had managed to gather. From knives to pans and rolling pins, we were stabbing and clubbing, the Dark Ones shocked that we dared to injure, even kill them, did not retaliate at first and I felt a buzz as I focused on the task, taking advantage of their hesitation. We confused them with a ferocity, defending those we were sworn to protect, they should have known we were capable of, but most of wizard kind had dismissed us as mere underlings because of our servile nature. The elitists especially, who did not value our lives at all, were stunned into inaction as they realised who it was charging at them. They had forgotten our history, our sacrifices when required, dismissed what they knew of us doing to protect those we served, we had become unnoticeable, irrelevant, unthreatening, and we used it to our advantage this day, alongside those who fought against the dark ones. They learnt we were not as toothless as they believed and paid the price for their arrogance.

I saw some spells fired against the enemy, which seemed to be appearing from thin air, protecting those who fought alongside us on our side. I knew that it was him, it had to be, he was under his cloak. I realised he was choosing the time when he would reveal himself, using his supposed death to our advantage, just as wizards forgetting of our capabilities worked to our benefit, so would the belief that he had been killed. I fought to head towards him, my intention being to try to defend him, stabbing at any of the dark ones followers legs as I passed them, dodging the flying arrow sharp sherds of crystal from the shattered balls hurled down from above, I had to try to protect him, help him. The battle suddenly burst into the Great Hall, we all spilled through the doors in a tidal wave, continuing to fight and I lost track of him once more.

I saw the tall, pale-skinned, bald and mutated figure of the Dark Lord, moving swiftly, defending himself against several attackers, fighting desperately in the crowd, a malicious grin on his face, certain of victory in the belief he had killed the one I sought. A chill went down my spine, this was not the first time I had seen him, nor was it the closest I had been to him, not by a long shot, but this time was very different. This time I would not be forced to follow his orders, this time I would not have to watch the one who had my loyalty die, unable to prevent it because of the instructions I had been given, this time my duty, my need, was not clouded by any orders. I had none from my master, not this time, so I was free, I was simply doing what I knew to be the right thing and that meant I could act as I knew I wished. With another shudder, I calmed my fear of Riddle. I knew his true identity just as all my kind did once we had been in the wizards' proximity, we had the ability to identify them accurately without being told, but we dare not use his true name, or his pseudonym openly. Knowing that my bonded one would go to where ever the Dark Lord was, I followed the dreaded figure into the Great Hall, the flow of people followed as well.

The others of my kind, the ones bound to this place, were fighting like demons possessed, to fulfil their part in protecting the castle and its rightful inhabitants, so many of the other defences, like the suits of armour, had fought valiantly but had been defeated or at least almost neutralised, that they were now an essential part of it. I saw a one die at the hands of a dark follower and screamed in rage as I leapt at the wizard who had sneeringly dealt the death blow. He looked up at me, his eyes widened in shock just as my knife pierced his throat and I landed on his chest. The force of my landing knocked him backwards and I released my hold of the blade that was stuck where it had entered and rolled off him as he hit the floor, gurgling as his blood spurted and flowed from the wound. We continued to fight, the looks of shocked amazement on the Dark Ones faces as we attacked, alongside the Wizards we fought with, might have been amusing to see at almost any another time, but it simply spurred us on as more of them fell, either dead or immobilised. Wizard kind was swiftly learning afresh that we could and would fight, just as fiercely as they, when circumstance required, though we could not be ordered to do it.

I looked round for another weapon and spotted the Weasley matriarch kill one of the last of my old family at the conclusion of a duel. I nearly reacted in furious rage, almost moving to attack her, instinct kicking in to avenge the death, even if only with my bare hands, then I remembered my loyalty was now elsewhere. It was at that moment, that I fully realised I was, at last free of them and my heart sang for joy as I remembered the kindness of the successor to them, my bound one.

It was at that moment a deafening silence fell over the hall, all fighting ceased and a shield went up across the hall, from floor to ceiling, separating us from the Dark Lord and one other, shorter, figure. The shorter figure had his back to me, facing the self-styled Lord, who looked shocked to see him. As the two began circling, Riddle seemingly recovering his composure, he started to taunt the other. Like everyone else, I froze to the spot, watching the two as they prepared for the first spell in the inevitable dual between them, their slow pacing brought the other’s face into view and I knew why Riddle had been shocked.

My instincts instantly went into overdrive, my Master was there, alone within the shield with that monster, who had believed he had already killed him once this night. Every fibre of my being, was screaming that I must protect him, I desperately looked for a way to get past the shield, so that I could aid my master, I would not fail him. My very nature fought inside me as I scanned the shield with my own magic, but I could not get through it, there was no way in to aid him. I stared in at him, I felt so helpless, an emotion I had not felt so deeply in many years, not since I had last been in the presence of the Dark Lord. Taking his eyes off the Dark Lord for a moment while he spoke, explaining something to his nemesis, though I don't know what. He glanced in my direction, but his eyes did not fall on me, rather he looked directly at the person standing next to me. 

I looked up and gasped, my senses sang in celebration, moments like this showed there was more than one type of magic, some we mere mortals of any species could control and another that acted alone to create sorcery of such beauty that we could not hope to replicate. Through all the chaos of the battle, I had somehow ended up standing here, on what I would unquestioningly say was exactly the best place for me to end up. It was her, she may not know it yet, but to me it was so obvious, this was his soul mate, the one my Master was destined to be with. I found myself hoping she knew, as I did, but then, unlike Wizards, my kind could always sense this kind of thing, even in infants when a close link that would lead to a bond occurred naturally. I watched her carefully, she nervously nibbled her lips, her eyes betraying her love and concern for the man facing the Dark Lord alone, her actions revealing her anxiety for him. I knew my duty, I could not help him, so I must help her. If the inevitable duel ended badly for us, then I would protect her, or die trying.

Suddenly, the two figures within the shield stopped circling each other, their conversation ended, Riddle not happy with what he had been told, and they each cast a spell at the other. My heart almost sank, I couldn't believe my ears, he had cast a simple Expelliarmus against the Dark Lord's killing curse. For a moment, I couldn't breathe, along with everyone in the hall. We helplessly watched as the two spells, one life threatening, the other almost to simple to be considered any kind of defence, sped towards their target. My master must have known what he was doing, I thought, I hoped or all was lost, the fate of our society rested on a charm from the Standard book of Spells Grade two, beating an unforgivable, it did not look hopeful. The two spells met, half-way between them miraculously the simple spell deflected the green one back towards Riddle. The Dark Lord's eyes widened as the combined spell sped towards him, his killing curse being effortlessly overwhelmed by the disarming charm. His wand flew into the air as he was hit by the hybrid of his own and my Master's spells, it was the moment so many had waited for, for so long, but none of us knew what effect it would have. 

The end of Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord or Tom Riddle should have been a momentous moment to witness and I suppose in one sense it was, but in fact it was an odd moment, strangely surreal. In some ways it could accurately be described as anticlimactic, underwhelming, even disappointing. Certainly there was no clap of thunder, no myriad of bells ringing, nor harps or trumpets to serenade the involuntary movement that resulted from the impact of the spells on the dark lord. It was not a spectacular or extraordinary event in any way except in its ordinary appearance of normality, it was perhaps one of the most underwhelming ends to what may have been one of the oddest duels seen in centuries. Yet it was an undeniably momentous event, despite it's remarkably mundane manner, the death of a man of such power at the hands of one so young could not be anything other than extraordinary. The duel itself had been more of a war of words and theories than anything, until that moment the spells had been cast, two spells, no more, just two, one from each of them. That was all that had, remarkably, been needed for it to end the life of one who had caused so much pain, been feared by even his followers so much that even his pseudonym was not spoken by many. That moment, when the spells impacted on the wizards' chest, was a strangely, wonderfully, beauteous sight, as natures elements conspired to create an almost surreal view, one I will never forget, one that will, undoubtedly, add to the legend of this day.

All present seemed to hold their breath once more, whether for the same reason or not I may never know, but for me the memory of the death of Tom Riddle will always be of an aesthetically amazing moment.

It would be wonderful to believe that my master timed it to perfection, ensured the duel ended when it did, in the manner it did by design, but the truth is it was merely a wonderful coincidence mixed with the luck the dark ones claimed was his only ally, as if that made it any less beneficial. Nature is unstoppable, it conspired to add to the moment in a totally unexpected way, perhaps pouring its blessing on the events of the morning, perhaps wanting to be part of adding to the legend around my master, if it did then nature created a romantic moment for the history books. Of course no one had a camera to capture it, but the instant the Spell struck, the rising sun reached the point over the horizon, where a shaft of its life giving rays beamed between two of the mountains over the lake and through one of the windows.

The rays of warming light hit and passed through the very window beneath which the two duelled, it illuminated my master within the luminescence of the dust of battle in the air around him, causing him to appear to glow in a halo of brilliance. His outstretched hand catching the other's wand with the expert ease of the skilled seeker that he was, as it completed its graceful arc from the Dark Lord. In the same moment, Riddle, with shock just registering on his face as he realized the truth of my master's words and of his defeat, fell backwards and into the shadows, his lifeless body folded in on itself, then struck the wall below the window through which the sunlight of the new day shone. His final view that of my master standing before him, looking placidly at the wand in his hand as if he didn't believe he had it, shrouded in a halo of the early dawn light, oblivious to the incredible image we saw.

There was a moment of silence whilst those watching took in the almost biblical sight, the shield that had prevented us joining the duel and protected us from any possibility of being struck by a stray spell, fell. He turned and looked up to face us, as if wondering if what he had just achieved had actually happened. The sun rising further, it's light spreading through the room, seeming to emanate and disperse from him to the rest of the room. The silence seemed to last forever, almost echoing round the stone walls, bouncing from each piece of debris strewn round the castle. The moment of quiet, that calm before the storm, seemed as loud as what followed. My Master did not move from the spot from where he had cast, but turned round to face us. He looked at us all, smiled slightly, tiredly, even sadly, then a loud cheer rang out and many of them ran forward to congratulate my Master. The noise bouncing from the walls, overwhelming the silence that had preceded it utterly, as they surged forward towards my Master.

Suddenly he was hoist onto shoulders to be carried high above the celebrating hordes, while others, perhaps more level-headed, surrounded any remaining Death Eaters they could. There were not enough of us, even with my kind and others, to cover them all and quite a few did escape, but we could do nothing about it, we had to concentrate on the ones we could hold. I was still next to my master's soul mate, I could see the mix of emotions she was going through, she so desperately wanted to be with him, to hold him, but could not get close thanks to all the others who were crowded round him. I continued to protect her as best I could, in this crowd a death eater could easily have been missed, could easily mount a retaliatory attack during the celebratory confusion. I, continuing to look around us, watching for any threat. Being bound to my master, but unable to get to him, it was my duty to protect her, my mistress. I was glad that I was there to do so, glad when my vigilance paid off.

I saw the wand, low down close to the floor, pointing directly at her. I could not see who held it before the spell left its tip, heading directly at her back. I had to act fast, instinctively, without thinking or hesitation, I knew she had not noticed the attack. I erected my own shield to protect the red-haired mate of my Master, angling it to deflect the spell. It bounced harmlessly from my shield into the air, passing through a hole in the that had been blasted into the ceiling, narrowly missing the jagged timbers around it. A wizard, who had been watching the crowd from close by, had noticed what had happened. He grabbed the wand and knelt on the hand that had held it whilst I bound the injured Death Eater who had cast the spell, he struggled until I succeeded, when he stilled, his arm showing the dark mark writhing on the skin. The wizard who held the Death Eater looked at me and nodded, I bowed back, and he dragged the captured one away, I watched as he dumped the dark one against a wall, next to others captured, already guarded at wand point by many I had recognised from their meetings in my Master's house. I looked back round, to check on her. I had known she hadn't noticed what had happened, she only had eyes for my Master. I smiled, it was entirely possible that she would never know what I had done for her, for him and that is exactly as it should be, I had, after all, simply done my duty. Even so, I was proud and I knew my Master and Mistress would not resent me feeling that and I determined that I would do all I could to be deserving of them.

It was these celebrations that were tough on my Master, as I mentioned before, he hated the attention, even though it was more than deserved. He simply wanted to be with his friends and live his own life at last, but his soul mate found it all just as hard. I watched her frustration while she could not get anywhere near him, her growing desperation to be with him. I saw their eyes meet once, both sets filled with longing for each other before the crowd dragged him off again. That at least calmed her a little, she knew he was just as keen to be with her as she was to be with him.

Later, as things began to calm, and he had finally managed to gain a seat, I saw her try to pick her way across the hall to him. He had not seen she was still in the Hall, or he surely would have gone to her. Suddenly the blonde girl sat next to him stood up and yelled pointing towards the ceiling, everyone in the hall looked where she pointed, when we looked back, he was gone. His soul mate almost swore in frustration, but remembered her mother was within hearing distance, and she did not want to upset her more than she already was. So she sought out her brother, whom she knew was his friend, but he and the bushy haired witch were leaving the hall alone. She sighed and returned to the bench, to sit with her parents and other brothers. Although she was with her family, I watched over her, unseen, in case there was something she needed.

It was well over an hour later when he called for me, he had not returned to the hall, and she had once more become dejected. I had begun to wonder if that call would ever come from him, but when it did I went eagerly to him, something I had only done reluctantly when I had first become his. I gladly fulfilled his request and took him some refreshment to his bedside in Gryffindor Tower, then left him to eat the sandwiches. That was the strange thing about him, compared to other Wizards, he had only once ordered me to do something and then only at the instruction of another, proving I had become his. No he had never given an order to me of his own volition, he had only ever made courteous requests that I do things, of course I did them, through the call of my duty at first, but now, I realised, just as much because I wanted to as well. I gained strength from the bond with him after I had accepted it, with it, he gained my loyalty by right, but he had gained my respect by not expecting that right to be given in any way, except when it was earned. He had worked to gain it, purely by the way he behaved towards me and my kind, it was only after he had left the house with his friends, fled really, that I realised I would miss him. He was the first human I had come across that did not treat us as lower creatures, I was his equal so far as he was concerned, although I served him. It was this that had gained him my reliance, as well as my loyalty and finally my complete trust.

After only a few short minutes it seemed, I sensed that he had fallen asleep, I went to leave clean clothes and clear up the remains of the meal. I could not heal his injuries while he slept, they were not life threatening, but I did pass a cleaning charm over him, which got rid of the worst of the grime from his body, then covered him with blankets, ensuring his comfort. I wished I could do more, but what I had done would have to be enough for now at least. The important thing was he was safe, I doubted any would harm him here, though I would put up some protection when I left the room to make sure.

As I collected the now empty plate from where I had left it a short time before, the wooden door to the room slowly slid opened. I hid, if this was an attacker after all, there was no need to make my presence known until I was needed to help my Master. I need not have worried, the figure who entered would certainly do him no harm, it was his soul mate. She slowly entered the room and looked round. Seeing him asleep, she smiled, relieved and walked over to the bed. She climbed onto the bed and lay next to him, she stayed on top of the blankets, careful not to disturb him and lay, gently stroking his hair. Others soon entered the room and climbed into the other beds, her brother and mother both tried to persuade her to move to a different room, urgently hissing their instructions to her, trying not to disturb the others. She simply waved them away, her father finally told them to leave her where she was. As he said it, my Master’s arm reached up protectively round her shoulders and a smile crept across his lips, though he slept on undisturbed. She smiled as well when her family left the room, but not before the youngest of her brothers had climbed onto a bed with the bushy haired witch, who lay with her back to the boy. His mother frowned and was about to protest again, when her husband simply dragged her from the room before she could say a word.

I waited, still hidden, until the sound of people sleeping filled the air. Silently, I crept out. She was still awake, but did not notice me. Quietly, I placed a sleeping charm on her and once it had taken effect, I magically moved the blanket to cover her as well, she needed to rest too. As she drifted into sleep, I assured her. “Don't worry, Mistress, all is well now, I will watch over you both. No harm will come to you or to Harry Potter whilst you both sleep. Kreacher, will make sure of that.”


End file.
